Sun. 13th September ’26
The alarm was set for 6:15am to allow us to get to the Rockpile for sunrise. Armed with cameras and coffee we headed out only to see a row of torches already ascending the Rockpile. We did not expect the first shuttles to arrive until 7am and thought it would be relatively quiet but later discovered they started arriving from 4:30am. We were therefore well behind the firstcomers, and space was at a premium, so we split up to find separate viewpoints. There may have been fewer people than for sunrise at Lake Louise – but not by many and they were crammed into a much smaller space. Dave dived off in a different direction with water and coffee, leaving me thirsty but I was not going to lose my spot going to find him!
I chatted to a couple who had already been waiting over an hour for sunrise, their alarm had been at 3:30am ready for their one-hour shuttle transfer. They were cold and so I understood why many people were carrying blankets. This was not what we expected but we both managed to find a space to set up our tripods and cameras, with a couple of heads in the way that can be removed post-production. There was an hour standing around waiting for the sun to rise high enough to light the snow-covered peaks. When it happened, though, the effect was glorious. Looking down the length of the lake, at the Ten Peaks with their tips lit with golden light. Truly a special place and worth the early alarm.
My new sunrise buddies were off to climb the walk we did yesterday, including the ascent to Sentinel Pass and they had all day as they were not leaving until 6pm. I did not envy them their long day. As Dave and I walked down the hotel stairs for our breakfast we saw them again in the gift shop which overlooked our stairs. It was a bit of an “us and them” moment as the tranquillity of our hotel overlooked the bedlam in the gift shop and cafe, which were both packed with day visitors. It is good to have some sanctuary away from the busy lakeside and helps justify the cost of the hotel. The peace here without day visitors was much shorter than we expected but as the hotel does not have any say over how Parks Canada organise day trippers it is just one of those things you have to accept.
Due to our early start and two days of strenuous walking our Garmin watches are not happy with us saying we have low energy and need 36 hours to recover! Decision made, we are not going to do the 6km walk to Consolation Lakes, even if it is only a 60m elevation gain. Instead, we have a quick nap and relaxation before 11am checkout and 12 noon when we need to remove the car from the car park. This leaves an hour to stroll along the lakeside before being out of the park by noon. Goodbye Moraine Lake, you are very beautiful and we have enjoyed our 24 hours in the park.
Time to move on to Emerald Lake, about an hour’s drive away and in Yoho National Park. After a stop at Lake Louise village to fill the car with petrol and to get a sandwich for lunch we are back on the road ready for what Claude has in store for us. We stop at the Lower spiral Tunnel viewpoint where if you time it right you can see a freight train exiting a tunnel as well as see the last carriages entering the other end of a spiral underground track. Sounds intriguing but no trains about so we move on.
I then see a sign for Takakkaw Falls which are on tomorrow’s itinerary but as we don’t want to drive anywhere tomorrow, we decide to detour. It is about 15 minutes out of our way up a windy road with switchbacks which coaches have to reverse to get around the bend. As it is a Sunday the car park is full but by driving round twice we find a space. The falls are “one of the tallest in Canada” whatever that means. They are very impressive and I don’t usually include people in my photos but I think they are necessary to convey size. This image of the falls is one of Dave’s and, if you look carefully, you can see some bright coloured jackets by the foot of the falls.
The last stop we make before reaching our destination is called Natural Bridge, which started as a waterfall but over many years the water eroded the rock to make an arch through which the water now flows. Interesting phenomenon and as ever very busy so a few photos and we move on. At the turn off for Emerald Lake there is a large sign saying Car Park full, oh dear more crowds. Still, we know there is a separate car park for guests to park up and call for a shuttle bus so we carry on. With an overnight (well two night) bag packed we join other guests with huge wheelie suitcases for the transfer bus.
It is not a long transfer and involves driving across a small bridge which has a dedicated lane for service vehicles. That’s a joke as it is full of tourists taking pictures of the lake. The transfer shuttle has a bicycle sounding bell apparently to be polite. We joke [Ed. – Why would you think I was joking?] bear spray would work in a very unsubtle way! The next day walk over the bridge and there is also a tannoy saying “beware vehicle crossing” but that has little effect on people too. Another busy day and the hotel says this is a place to switch off from the world as the rooms do not have Wi-Fi or mobile coverage. How can you switch off with so many tourists about? Still, we were lucky that our Lodge is close to the main building so we do have connectivity and do have Wi-Fi, just as well because we have blogs to write and emails to answer, life goes on wherever we are. After dinner we were shattered and watched the enthralling highlights of the Solheim Cup, well done Europe.